Week 8 Storylines

New Yorks's Giant Skid Extends To Three Losses Against Eagles (40-17 PHI): The Giants probably raised more questions than they answered with a poor performance against the Philidelphia Eagles. The 40-17 loss marked the Giants' third consecutive loss, and came at a bad time as the now have two weeks to rue their missed chances during a bye week. Most of the problems that have plagued them through the last few weeks persisted; the G-Men were consistently vulnerable to the big play on defense, and DeSean Jackson (who is making big plays left and right this season) took advantage with a 55-yard touchdown reception. Philly later sealed their victory with a 66-yard run by LeSean McCoy, filling in for the injured Brian Westbrook. In addition, the New York offense didn't look quite the same as it did the first five weeks of the year. That's an understatement, given Eli Manning's poor play against New Orleans, Arizona, and now the Eagles. Maybe he needs some more tips from big brother Peyton.

Ravens Hand Denver First Loss of Season (30-7 BAL): Kyle Orton has shown this season that he is efficient, but not explosive. Give him the small stuff and let him complete passes; you can still keep the Broncos out of the endzone. The Ravens defence allowed him to complete 23 of 37 passes, but only allowed 152 yards through the air and, more importantly, seven points. Linebacker Jarret Johnson set the tone early by sacking Orton on the first play of the game and the defence recovered a Knowshon Moreno fumble before Lardarius Webb returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score to essentially put the game out of reach for the Broncos. The Ravens snapped a three-game losing streak as well as putting an end to Denver's hopes of an undefeated season. This will probably end up being good for Josh McDaniel's team, though; talk of going undefeated usually only puts unnecessary pressure on a team, and despite suffering their first loss the Broncos still have their division well in hand.

Slaton Benched As Texans Roll Over Bills (31-10 HOU): Houston won handily in Buffalo despite a poor outing for most of the familiar offensive stars. Tight end Owen Daniels sustained a knee injury that will require season-ending surgery, quarterback Matt Schaub threw two interceptions and no touchdowns, and running back Steve Slaton was benched after a fumble early in the game (his fifth of the season). Despite all that, the Texans scored 31 points. How did they do it? Ryan Moats, a 5th year tailback out of LA Tech, rushed for 126 yards on 23 carries, scoring three times. Three Kris Brown field goals (and one gratuitous two-point conversion from Schaub to Andre Johnson) finished the Bills, who have fallen flat on their faces after two years of hype and promises of improvement. Terrell Owens has been surprisingly quiet as far as talking to the media is concerned, but don't expect that to last too long if Buffalo continues to struggle.

Miami Edges Jets After Frantic Third Quarter (30-25 MIA): The Dolphins hardly even needed an offense to beat the Jets. Wideout Ted Ginn Jr., benched by head coach Tony Sparano, settled into his duties as the returner, tying an NFL record held by seven other players by returning two kickoffs for touchdowns (he is the only player in history to run back two kicks in the same game of 100 yards or more). This came after a dreary first half that featured a scoreless first quarter, and the only players who scored were the kickers. The offenses, not wanting to be left out, turned it on late. Two touchdown passes from Mark Sanchez to Braylon Edwards and Dustin Keller brought the Jets close, but two failed two-point conversions and a Dolphins TD put the game out of reach. This game certainly lived up the its hype, but it will be interesting to see how Rex Ryan reacts to it over the course of the week.

Da Bears Bounce Back Against Browns (30-6 CHI): After an embarassing loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago needed a win to keep their morale going. They got it against the other Ohio team. Cleveland is quite possibly the worst team in the NFL right now (although I would put the Raiders in over them), and it was the perfect feel-good game for the Bears to come back from as the defence forced five turnovers and Matt Forte scored two touchdowns. I think Chicago will still feel aggravated, though, that they could not do more against a poor Browns team. Forte only rushed for 90 yards (3.5 average) while Cutler threw 1 interception and no touchdowns. Meanwhile, things are looking worse for the beleaguered Browns, who are looking for the lesser of two evils in their potential starting quarterbacks. After what is shaping up to be another down year for Cleveland, I fully expect Eric Mangini to be gone.

St. Louis No Longer Winless, Beats Detroit (17-10 STL): After seven weeks of misery, the Rams finally have escaped the ranks of the winless teams by beating another terrible team in the Detroit Lions, who were missing half of their offensive star power in injured wide receiver Calvin Johnson. Steven Jackson's hard work still paid off, though. Despite coming into the game second in the league in all-purpose yardage and third in rushing, Jackson had not yet scored a touchdown this season. He broke that drought (the longest of his career) with a score against the Lions to cap off a stellar, 149-yard performance. Even if it came against another yearly loser in Detroit, a win is a win, and the Rams and head coach Steve Spagnuolo will be happy to have their first.

Manning, Colts Edge Out San Francisco (18-14 IND): Peyton Manning didn't throw a touchdown in this game, but he won't mind. It was the arm of running back Joseph Addai that gave the Colts the go-ahead score over the 49'ers. Having recieved the ball on a stretch option play (in which the running back has the choice to either run or pass), Addai hit a wide open Reggie Wayne with a lofted left-handed effort that Wayne still had to stretch out for. While Manning did not throw for a score, he restarted the streak that was broken three weeks ago by passing for 347 yards. Were it not for the Saints, the Colts would be the hottest team in football, with Manning showing off his best play since 2003 (that includes the Colts' Super Bowl run in 2006) and the defense looking rejuvenated with safety Bob Sanders (the 2007 Defensive Player of the Year) back in the lineup. As they move to 7-0, they will have to stay on their guard to avoid an upset by their division rivals: the upstart Houston Texans.

Carolina Upsets Arizona In Surprise of the Week (34-21 CAR): Sure, the Panthers won convincingly over what most people had billed as a superior Cardinals team, but don't give the credit to Jake Delhomme. In a dominant performance from both DeAngelo Williams and Johnathan Stewart, Delhomme only attempted 14 passes, completing 7 of them for 90 yards. I should put an asterisk next to that yardage total, as 50 of them came on a long after-the-catch run by Steve Smith. Fortunately for Delhomme (who is essentially in a caretaker role in the Panther offense), Williams and Stewart carried the load with a combined 40 rushes for 245 yards (Stewart also scored two touchdowns). The Panthers D did the rest, forcing six turnovers from Kurt Warner (five of them interceptions), including a leaping pick-six from defensive end Julius Peppers.

Dallas Pounds Seattle, Secure First Place Tie In Divison (38-17 DAL): With the Giants having fallen to the Eagles, Dallas need a win to keep their first place tie with Philly, and they got it in a convincing win over the underachieving Seawhawks. QB Tony Romo looked sharp for the third week in a row, while Patrick Crayton regained the coaches' confidence in his punt return skills with his second punt return for a score in as many games. After a slow start, things are looking up in Big D. The same cannot be said for their opponents, however. Even with the return of veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, the Seahawks are a shadow of the team they were in 2007 (when they were defeated by the Green Bay Packers in the NFC divisional playoffs), let alone the team that made the Super Bowl in 2005. They have one of the worst rush defenses in the league, and this last game made it painfully clear that their pass defense also needs work. Meanwhile, Hasselbeck is showing his wear-and-tear as he clutched his bad ribs after being sacked on Sunday. I think it's time Seattle started looking for another signal-caller, because it looks pretty cloudy as to how much gas Hasselbeck has left in the tank.

Chargers Beat Dismal Oakland For 13th Straight Win Over Raiders (24-17): It's just sad how awful the Oakland Raiders have been for the past four to five seasons. Between them and the equally lowly Kansas City Chiefs, they have a paltry three wins, and essentially make the AFC West the worst division in football (a title the Chargers and Broncos must unfortunately share by association). I think a telling stat is the difference in passing yardage between the Raiders' JaMarus Russel (109) and the Chargers' Philip Rivers (256), despite Rivers only completing two more passes (16 to 14). Oakland can't block, and as a result can't run or pass (the dreaded trifecta from hell). By the way, if the Chargers don't lose to Oakland for four more seasons (something I could definitely see happening) they will break the all time record for the most consecutive wins by one team over another (set at 20 by the Dolphins of the 60's and 70's, who had their way with the Buffalo Bills in that era).

Chris Johnson Drags Titans To First Win Over Jags (30-17 TEN): Despite the potential implications of the headline, Johnson was not the only player on the field for Tennessee, although he did rush for a franchise-record 228 yards on 24 carries (9.5 yards per rush). Quarterback Vince Young, who regained his starting spot after the benching of Kerry Collins, was efficient and mastake-free despite not putting up big numbers, completing 15 of only 18 passes for 125 yards and a score. With Johnson's performance, it's not like Young had to shine, but I think he did well enough to keep his job as the starter for another week (at least he won a game).

New Orleans Wins Again, But Falcons Keep It Close (35-27 NO): I know that the Saints defense can make plays when it counts (such as Jabari Greer's 48-yard interception return yesterday against the Falcons), but for all the talk about how much they have improved they have consistently given up lots of points. They are 20th in the league with 22 points per game scored against them; if it were not for their dominant offense, those numbers would be unforgivable and could be even worse. It has become a persistent problem for New Orleans over the past few years; the only difference is the Saints were losing games before and now they're winning. Despite their current win streak and the fact that they have the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL, I don't think New Orleans will go undefeated. Michael Turner (and Ricky Williams of the Dolphins) have shown that the Saints defense can be rattled if their opponent is effective at running the ball, and the strip-sack by Thomas Decoud (as well as the resulting score by defensive tackle Kroy Bierman) showed that Drew Brees is not as perfect as the Saints' record would suggest. If they don't fall to the New England Patriots (who they play in three weeks), they will likely at least receive a scare from one of the other teams like they did against Miami, and their seemingly blessed luck can't hold out forever.